- The Cyprus financial market regulator, CySEC, has approved the European domain of FTX’s platform (ftx.com/eu), as per an announcement made on Monday.
- Through an unnamed investment entity permitted to operate within the European Economic Area, FTX Europe will offer products and services throughout the European Economic Area.
- The division is based in Switzerland, with a second location in Cyprus.
- FTX Europe will appear to be the European counterpart of FTX.US, which opened for American users in 2020 and now has a $8 billion valuation following a $400 million financing in January.
FTX Europe will begin serving consumers throughout the continent after receiving authorisation from Cyprus’ financial authority, CySec. The exchange’s newest project, according to marketing materials, will focus on the Middle East, though it’s unclear which nations would be involved.
This is the original FTX crypto exchange’s second affiliate. The company’s American affiliate, FTX US, launched in May 2019.
“As we continue to grow, we are constantly looking at opportunities to become appropriately licensed and regulated in every market we enter. We’ll be interacting with regulators in various countries across Europe to continue to provide a safe and secure environment for people to trade crypto,” said Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and CEO of FTX, on the European expansion.
According to LinkedIn, FTX Europe will be directed by Patrick Gruhn, who is also a partner at the Swiss law firm Crypto Lawyers LLC. Gruhn’s new function as the head of the European affiliate has yet to be indicated on his LinkedIn profile.
“Europeans will now be able to participate in a wide range of cryptocurrencies derivatives through a licenced investment business using FTX’s best-in-class trading platform,” added Gruhn.
Europe and FTX
This isn’t the first time that the cryptocurrency exchange has established itself in Europe.
The crypto exchange announced cooperation with CM-Equity AG, a German investment firm, in 2020 to start offering tokenized stock trading on its platform.
The Munich-based corporation is a white label solution that offers the crypto exchange KYC services, compliance requirements, and custody of the stocks in question, among other services. Apple, Tesla, Google, Facebook, and other well-known equities are included in the programme, which is still available.
According to marketing materials, FTX Europe is allowed to supply its services thanks to a collaboration with an unidentified licenced investment firm “with passportable licenses across the European economic area,” in addition to regulatory approval in Cyprus.
